68% voter turnout in Phase 1 of Gujarat poll
89 CONSTITUENCIES DECIDE EVMS replaced in some booths after glitches
› You (Congress) gave a lollipop to Muslims in all states that you will give reservation... they have made a similar promise to another community here... Will they snatch it from the OBCS, tribals or SCS?
NARENDRA MODI, Prime Minister
AHMEDABAD: A 68% turnout was recorded in 89 seats that voted on Saturday in the first phase of assembly polls in Gujarat, where the BJP and Congress are locked in a contest that analysts expect to be the closest in years.
The BJP, which has governed the state for 22 years, won 63 of these 89 seats in the 2012 polls. The Congress won 23; and others three. Gujarat has always been a state with a high voter turnout. In the previous election, 70.7% voters cast their vote for the assembly’s 182 seats.
The highest turnout of 75% was recorded in Navsari and Morbi on Saturday. Botad and Porbandar districts in the Patidar-dominated Saurashtra region recorded the lowest turnout of 60%. Voter turnout in urban areas, where most of the firstround seats are located, was lower than that in rural areas, Election Commission (EC) officials said.
Analysts caution against drawing any inferences on the outcome based on the turnout. In the run-up to the elections, sev- eral analysts said some of the BJP’S traditional supporters could stay away from the polls because they were angry with the party over the agrarian crisis and implementation of the goods and services tax.
Voting was slow in the morning cold but picked up pace in the afternoon, despite reports of electronic voting machines (EVMS) malfunctioning in about 40 polling booths in several segments, including Surat and Rajkot, the state’s diamond and textile hubs.
The EC said snag-hit EVMS were replaced immediately and the glitches caused only a “minor” disruption in voting.
The election commission also dismissed allegations that EVMS and paper-trail machines were tampered with to manipulate results.
NEW DELHI: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recovered demonetised currency notes of ₹500 and ₹1,000 worth a face value of nearly ₹50 crore in Gujarat during first phase of assembly polls.
“Acting on a specific intelligence, the officers of DRI, Surat and Central Goods and Services Tax compliance unit in Vadodara raided the premises belonging to Yamuna Building Material in Bharuch and recovered demonetised currency notes of the face value of ₹48.9 crore.” said a DRI official.
Agency officials said keeping demonetised notes is punishable by a fine which may extend to five times the amount of the recovery taken at face value under the newly enacted Specified Bank Notes Act, 2017. The agency is planning to initiate proceedings against three people and that the fine in this case may go up to ₹245 crore, the official added. According to the law, it is illegal to possess these notes beyond the grace period.
In November, the NIA recovered demonetised currency to the tune of ₹36.34 crore and arrested nine people in the national capital.